Tracksters save best showing for state

DAVID TAYLOR

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, May 19, 2010

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The state track team from left, senior Travis Plumb (5th in 800M), Stephanie Hernandez (third in 1600), Coach Gilmore (Distance coach), Taeler Marshall (second in 3200m run) Hapy Singh (second in 1600m run and second in the 3200m run and Head Track Coach Jason Taylor. less

The state track team from left, senior Travis Plumb (5th in 800M), Stephanie Hernandez (third in 1600), Coach Gilmore (Distance coach), Taeler Marshall (second in 3200m run) Hapy Singh (second in 1600m run and ... more

Tracksters save best showing for state

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If the best is truly saved for last, the Huffman Hargrave boys and girls track teams took that concept to heart last Friday at the UIL State Track and Field Meet, pulling out their best performances of the year.

The boys’ team finished ninth in the state and the girls 12th, two of their highest rankings in recent memory.

Athletic Director Mike ‘Mac’ McEachern said there’s a new attitude that’s fueling the track program with the newfound success.

“We no longer look at how many kids we can get out of District, but now how many we’re going to get out of Regionals and on to State,” he said.

“Last year we took four kids to State and this year we took the same amount, but in six events. Our track program is really beginning to take off,” he said.

The girls’ team last year finished second, losing by only 2 points. This year they won district by more than 60 points. The boys’ team has finished second both of the last two years, but McEachern sees progress there, too.

“This year they lost it to Coldspring by 2 points. It all came down to one race. You get a few points here and there.”

Some of the progress is also in the numbers. This year the Falcons fielded 24 athletes at Regionals, another record number.

“That’s a tough region. Our kids are learning now that it’s not just trying to get out of District, but Regionals now. That’s how far our program has developed.”

Those numbers are not easy, particularly for a 3A program that doesn’t boast a lot of kids.

“We share athletes,”MacEachern, said. “What’s amazing is that we have four girls on the softball team who were district champions that came over and helped our track team win a district title. That says a lot about our coaches’ willingness to share athletes. We preach the multi-sport athlete concept here at Huffman.”

“They never cease to amaze me,” said a happy Head Track Coach Jason Taylor.

“Every week they just keep getting better and better.”

Taylor said that at state, four out of the six events were personal best performances and also school records.

“That’s what you want out of your track team, to peak, especially at state,” he said.

Taylor said the students are good about setting their own goals and credits Coach Gilmore for his work.

“The hotter it gets in April and May, it’s hard to keep them motivated, but he does it. Those kids have a lot of inner drive and it makes our job easier,” Taylor said.

Junior Happy Singh placed second in his two events, the 1600M and 3200M. While he was happy with his performance, he felt like he might have made a mistake.

“I just tried to sit on the heavy favorite in the two mile and outkick him. I just went too early. He passed me up with about 200M to go,” he said.

The leader had come into the race with a better time.

“I knew I would have to outkick him,” the junior said.

Singh, who has been running since the seventh grade, has a brother who won State in the high jump and is attending McNeese State on a track scholarship.

Happy, who won two silvers, says his eye is on the University of Texas and is undecided on his major.

Sophomore Taeler Marshall placed second in the 3200M and is looking forward to next season. Marshall lost out to a freshman and has hopes of a rematch.

“At state, I was just thinking about trying to stay with her,” she said. “I stayed on her shoulder as long as I could, but then she pulled away from me.”

Marshall has been running since the seventh grade and joined the cross country team in eighth grade.

“I’ve been a competitive swimmer since I was 8 years old,” she said. “I was always told that swimmers make good cross country runners because we have a lot of endurance.”

The workouts are grueling and mean running anywhere from 40 to 60 miles per week.

“You really have to like running,” she said. “I really enjoy it a lot.”

“It’s a discipline and we like winning State,” she said, smiling.

McEachern says there’s a lot of discipline involved in running.

“I’ll be driving home at 5 or 6 o’clock at night and I’ll pass Happy and Coach Gilmore out on the road running,” he said.

Taylor is excited about the future for the Falcons. They only graduate one senior this year, so the team is very young.

“We’ll have a lot of our kids coming back next year. We’ll reload and go after it again,” he said.

His eighth grade crop looks good and he expects them to contribute when they move into high school.

Taylor takes some ribbing as a track coach.

“A lot of these guys joke with me that all we tell them is to run hard and to turn left,” he said. “There is some strategy and technique involved though.”